A mother's pain
by JonseyCat79
Summary: A mother's pain is beyond any known, and a young boy named Mark is placed under a spell that will only be broken when he heals the pain of an ailing Marowak who lost her child, learning a little about how to heal his own mother's pain... TF story.


**A Mother's pain**

**Chapter 1**

**An/: Hello, I'm JonseyCat and your reading "_A mother's pain"_, a little something that popped into my head all of a sudden and I knew I had to write it, so enjoy! MEE-YAA!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon, Nintendo does. **

**-0-**

A door flew open.

"You get back in here young man!"

"NO! Sometimes I wish you weren't my mom!"

The sound of running feet could be heard down the streets on one chilly night in Lavender Town, the famous fog settling in. A small shape can be seen running away from a house with a woman in the doorway, calling for at the fleeing child and turning her head as if uncertain if she should follow or not. She fell to her knees and began to push back tears.

A mother's pain is beyond many known.

-0-

Mark was hiding underneath a park bench, his arms huddled around his legs to ward off the cold, his mussed up brown hair brushing against his knees as he curled up. His eyes burned from tears yet his face was one of stubbornness.

His mom had another "word" with him, and Mark was at an age where it was his way or no way at all. Mark thought back to when he was fonder of his mother, when they did more together. Then her new job at the new plant took her away. Those first few years of detachment were hard on Mark.

_Then she comes back after those lost years and wants to make-up for it. I should be happy, yet I'm not…_

After she tried to be more motherly at a time when Mark's need had long passed, things became looser between them. More fights sprouted, usually resulting in the same ending that transpired now, only tonight it was colder.

_I really hate to leave her like that, but she doesn't know what I feel…how could she?_

Mark got out from the bench and looked up at Lavender Tower, the tall tower where pokemon are remembered and where ghost pokemon supposedly come out on dark nights.

Mark was turning to head back home when a noise caught his ears. It was a sad one, a wail of some sorts. _What was that, maybe a ghost?_

Mark went up to the large doors of the ancient tower, looked around at his surroundings, then at the tall tower itself.

_Well, I might be crazy for this, but here goes nothing…_

Mark pushed the doors and went into the arcane tower.

-0-

A dark hall greeted Mark, one with a stairwell running up in one direction and dusty hallways on another, cobwebs in certain areas. There were remnants of burnt out candles in certain places, with flowers and letters placed at the base of some mounds, with headstones that carried inscriptions.

_I must be in the graveyard…creepy._

Mark walked along the lonely corridor and began to move up the stairwell, dust kicking up from his steps. Mark coughed when some dust entered is mouth and continued upward. He soon came upon another floor, this one with fog shrouding it and more headstones. _Another floor with another graveyard?_

Mark seldom visited the graveyard, on the account that he never knew a pokemon that died. As a matter of fact, Mark never owned a pokemon on account of his mother saying there was no time for one. _When my friends were out having adventures with their pokemon, I was stuck at home because my mom was working and said we were too busy to have one of my own…_

"_When the time comes, I promise that you will have a pokemon…"_

That's what she said. Some promise. Sometimes it feels like it will never come…

Mark went up to another floor, trying to find out what made that sound earlier. Once again another graveyard greeted him, one left with mementos left by people who paid their respects. Mark remembered being in a graveyard only once before, when his grandfather passed away. Before he died, his grandfather was as close to him as his mother was and when she left to work to support him, his grandfather was there for him.

_It was ok for awhile, and then…_

Mark shook his head trying to forget, but he could never forget. His mother seemed so low after Mark's grandfather, her own father, parted ways with this world. _He probably was as close to her as she was to me at one point…_

Mark heard a scuffle and turned his head in the direction. He turned and saw a little shadow scurry on the wall. There was a hole at the base of the wall, a burrow of some kind.

Mark pushed some grass aside (_Man can't believe that actually grows here…), _and went into the hole. Luckily, he was able to fit in and began to crawl.

There was darkness ahead of him and he pushed onward blindly, it was almost as if he was venturing deeper into the recesses of his own doubt, trying to make sense of it.

_Man, never was one for thinking things through…wait! I remember that little flashlight on a key chain grandpa gave me…_

He fumbled for his pocket and felt the tiny metal object and clicked it on, a narrow beam of light illuminating the tunnel. He kept going deeper, the air getting stuffier. Mark went on however, deeper in the hole.

After what felt like forever, Mark saw a glint at the end of the tunnel. _Hard to believe that this is here in this tower…who built it?_

Mark went forward and felt some cool air brushing through a small crack against a small pile of rocks. Mark pushed them aside and felt a rush of cool air. He looked around and saw more fog and saw that he was somehow outside. _Wait, wasn't I on the third floor? How can I be out here on the ground level again? Unless I as actually going down instead of forward or…_

Mark heard something that sounded like crying and crouched among the grass and went forward, crawling against the ground when he came across a small fire burning n the middle of the field. Mark saw that it was a campfire and he could see a shape crouched next to it, crying to itself. _What is that, a pokemon?_ Mark saw the bone on the side of the tree and could see glimpses of the pokemon against the flickering fire.

_That's…that's a Marowak_

Indeed it was one, the distinct skull-like head crouched over something clutched in its arms, its tail curled around itself, tears flowing down the pokemon's eyes.

_What is that? _Mark bent closer and could see what the thing in its arms was.

It was the skull of a Cubone.

Mark was wondering why the Marowak had a Cubone skull in its arms when he noticed the shadows floating in a strange way. The air seemed to chill and a faint breeze came along.

_What's going on?_

Mark saw the shadows gather at one spot and it made a orb of some type. The black orb burst and the energies formed into a shape, one that resembled a floating object.

_A ghost…_

It was a ghost of some kind, a ghost pokemon in fact. It was a blackish purple color, lavender gems circled its neck, a shape like a witches hat encompassing its head. Its body was fluttery like a robe or a small dress. Mark had never seen that pokemon before, but it kind of reminded him of a Misdreavus, but different somehow, older in some way, maybe even wiser.

The ghost seemed to whisper incantations to the weeping Marowak, or maybe that's just the way it sounded to Mark. Maybe they were talking to each other. The ghost then looked to Mark and Mark froze.

_Did it see me? I better get out of here…_

Mark began to slink back toward the hole when the air chilled around him.

"_I'm sorry, were you planning on leaving without introducing yourself?" _A smooth voice of a woman sounded in his head, almost gentle and cooing like a teacher. Mark froze when this voice entered his head.

"ah, who said that?" Mark looked around, but deep in the back of his mind, he knew.

The ghost floated overhead and met with his face.

"_I did." _The ghost moved close to Marks face as if inspecting him.

"_Hmm, so your name is Mark…oh I see, you've caused her a great deal of pain…"_

"Huh? Who?" mark asked with knowing why. The ghost closed its eyes. _" A mother's pain is beyond any known. Look behind you and tell me what you see."_

Mark turned to the crying Marowak. "A Marowak holding a Cubone skull."

"_Yes, the very skull of her child, taken away so soon. It's quite heart wrenching to see, especially if you've seen as many as I have."_

Mark looked to the ghost, and crazy as it may have seemed, tried to talk at it.

"Um excuse me, but who are you, I've never seen a pokemon like you before."

The ghost looked to him with wise eyes. _"No, I suppose you haven't seen the likes of me before, I am Fantisma, a ghost that your pokemon scientists would call a 'Mismagius'." _

She floated to him with a grave expression. _"I can see that you can't feel the pain you put her through."_

"_I have seen many mother pokemon of different types, all who lost children before it was their time, some after a short acquaintance, others directly from the moment they are born who are given one brief moment of life before they are snatched away. I bear the sad task of informing them of their lost…" _She floated to Mark and looked at the weeping Marowak.

"_Though sometimes whenever I can, I try to alleviate the pain. Like I said before, a mother's pain is a very cruel one."_

She looked to him again, her eyes glittering. _"And you have caused your own mother a good deal of pain that I find astounding. Something must be done about this."_

Mark backed away. "I didn't mean to hurt her, I-I-"

"_You speak words yet you still don't understand. It's almost sad. But it has been awhile since I've done this." _The ghost closed her eyes and seemed to chant.

"D-Done what?"

"_O sacred mound and night wolf's bane,_

_oh hear her sorrowful tears of pain…"_

"_This one whelp, with understanding dull,_

_shall wear this newborn's skull..."_

"_One's pain will be the joy of another,_

_and will be undone when he heals the pain of a mother."_

The ghost opened her eyes and looked to Mark. _"It is done."_

Mark stood up when he felt something land on his head real hard. He landed on is rear and put his hand to his head and felt…bone. Mark opened his eyes and saw that a mask was around him. _No not a mask…a skull… A Cubone skull._

Mark made to pull it off, but it seemed to be stuck. "Hey, what's going on, why won't this thing come off?!" Mark began to roll on the ground, trying to get the skull of his face. Mark suddenly felt his spine erupt into a stinging pain and cried out and writhed on the ground.

Mark felt something build up in the seat of his pants. He looked through the eyeholes on the skull to see his arms beginning to turn a brownish orange color and his legs too. He heard a tearing sound and saw a lump build up in his pants. His eyes widened and Mark felt more pain shoot through him. His clothes began to feel loose as he began to shrink into them, his legs getting caught in his shorts, his head being covered by his shirt as he grew smaller and smaller.

A mound of clothes began to stir on the floor, and a head covered by a skull poked out, the large eyes wide and flowing tears.

The Cubone was crying.

"Cubone Cu?" _What happened to me!?_

Fantisma floated to the Cubone with a solemn look. _"When you heal the pain of another, you will return to your mother." _She floated over the Cubone and lifted it out of the heap of clothes somehow and set it on the ground so it can get a better look of itself. The Cubone looked at its body holding it head, the look of nervousness becoming more prominent beneath the skull. It turned to see its tail and looked at its stubby arms. The Cubone looked to the ghost with a face of disbelief.

Fantisma sent an orb to the pile of clothes and they were absorbed into it and she made it disappear. _"I will hold on to these until the time is right. I wish you the best on your journey!" _She bowed and closed her eyes as the air around her began to ripple and bend. The Cubone ran to the ghost but it vanished by the time it got there. It sat down and began to cry.

"CUUUBONNECUBONE!"

The Cubone then felt something hug it, a reassuring hug, one of comfort and strength. It looked up and saw the Marowak, hugging it with tears down its face.

"_Oh, thank Arceus for sending me a gift of a second chance. Don't worry, Mama is here." _She began to stroke the nervous Cubone, who eventually broke the grip and began to back away.

"Cubone Cubone." _Look, this is a mistake I already have a mom._

"_Yes and I'm here for you now. I'd thought I lost you forever."_

The Cubone shook its head and began to run but fell down on its face. It began to sniffle again and the Marowak was there and picked it up in its arms and began to walk off while the Cubone stopped struggling and began to fall asleep. The Marowak picked up its club in one hand and continued to carry the sleeping Cubone as it too it to a place next to a tree and went into the burrow right beneath it.

While one set of weeping stopped, another began.

-0-

**This story was originally written exactly on New Year's Eve of 2008, making it the last story of 2008 that I wrote. It was also going to be a one-shot but then I changed my mind thinking it would be better as a short story, with a few chapters. This may go up to 4-5 chapters max, but more likely stop in three chapters. This chapter felt more like an intro than anything , so more chapters may come. If I see it necessary, I may combine all the chaps into the one shot it was intended to be, but for now, review. JonseyCat, out! MEE-YAA!**


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